


David Kidnaps His Boyfriend For Christmas

by shuujinkos



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Christmas Fluff, F/M, M/M, T for innuendos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-30
Updated: 2016-12-30
Packaged: 2018-09-13 08:32:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9115126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shuujinkos/pseuds/shuujinkos
Summary: A Sears Family Kidnapping to one Jack Raikov on Christmas Day.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this is WAY WAY WAY too long, I started this on Christmas Day and only finished it literally right now and I'm DYING. Please forgive me for any silly OOCish interactions, I have a whole world in my head where everyone is just, happy. Also I'm so sorry that there are 11 people present and 9 of them open multiple gifts in detail.

Christmas had never been the most important holiday to Jack. His adoptive parents gave him things he had no interest in, or clothes that didn’t fit; and he didn’t receive gifts from friends, because he didn’t _have_ any friends. The weather didn't bother him either. He didn’t mind the hail, the sleet, or the snow, he just bundled up in his room or wore too many layers when he took the bus to school. He didn’t figure this year would be different, despite the friends he’d made, but David had surprised him before.

He was laying curled up in his bed when he got the text, a shiny bright LED screen under his various blankets. He sat up slowly, shivering at the cold, stale air in his room. Would it really kill his parents to turn the heater on every once in a while? It wasn't like they needed to save their money for other things. Jack squinted at his phone as a yawn stretched his features, and he swung his legs over the side of his bed to get up. Even through his socks, the hardwood floor was ice cold. Briefly he wondered if the air conditioning was still on.

_[ Come over if you can. ]_

He glanced at the calendar on his wall and ran a hand through his hair. The question wasn’t if he could, but how he would get there. He had a vague idea of the bus route to The Sears’ house, but he didn’t want to get lost. And he sure couldn’t ride his bike in this kind of weather. He spaced out for a moment before he rummaged through his dresser for an acceptably warm outfit to wear.

He took the hottest shower he could stay standing in and got dressed, sitting in his small, steamy bathroom as he finally replied to David’s text.

_[ i don’t really have a way of getting over there, you know. ]_

He brushed his teeth and dried his hair, brushing it slowly. He needed to get it cut, his bangs were always falling in his eyes. He would tie the back up if it wasn’t so cold. His phone buzzed on the counter and he picked it up, flipping his ancient phone open. He smiled wryly.

_[ Got it covered, kid. You ready? ]_

Jack stood for a moment before sighing and leaving the stuffy warmth of his bathroom to stare out his window. The driveway was empty, which was a cold relief, but sitting outside his apartment was… George’s car. Jack ran a hand down his face and grabbed a beanie from his dresser and pulled on the fluffiest socks he could. He shoved a jacket on and hastily wrapped a scarf around his neck, shoving his keys, phone, and wallet in his pockets. He practically slid down the stairs and sat on the floor to tie his shoes.

He flung the door open, hurriedly locked it behind him, and dashed over to the car. Eli was pouting in the front seat, and David threw the door open for him.

“What is this, a Sears’ family kidnapping?” he huffed, climbing into the back seat of George's bright red ‘98 Durango. George eyed him in the rearview mirror before rolling his eyes and smiling, pulling the car out of park. It was warm. Constantly, he was surprised that George’s car still had heat.

“You could say that,” David grinned at him. The twins were hardly dressed in anything weather appropriate, probably having just woken up, but George was fully dressed and looking far too awake. Eli didn’t particularly look like he wanted to be here, like he was dragged out of bed to join his brothers on this wondrous adventure.

“Is Christmas like, a big thing for you guys?” Jack asked behind a yawn. David and Eli looked at each other and Eli snorted.

“Dude, our dad still believes in Santa Claus,” Eli sneered, shifting in his seat to sit backwards and face them. George brake-checked him and he slid back against the dashboard, cursing up a storm. Jack stifled a laugh and David didn’t bother.

“Yeah. Our uh, uncles? Come over and everything. Hal and his dad, too,” David scratched his cheek. “Mom likes making the food, dad believes in Santa, Kaz and Adam get drunk, it’s the works.” An embarrassingly warm feeling warmed its way into Jack’s stomach and he leaned back. A second later, he sat up straighter and blinked.

“How did you know I wasn’t going to be doing anything today?” Jack asked slowly. George turned out of his neighbourhood out on to the main road. David hummed and raised his eyebrows, pretending like he was deep in thought. It didn’t exactly make Jack feel better about his situation, but he was thankful that David was at least thinking of him.

“I’m good at guessing,” he decided on finally. Eli scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“George told us that you told him that your parents don’t really stick around for Christmas,” he said boredly, putting his feet up on the dashboard. George smacked his shin and he yelped, pulling his legs down with a pout. Jack wrung his hands in his lap.

“George, I… You didn’t have to…”

“It’s okay Jack.” They met eyes in the rearview mirror and George nodded with a kind look across his face. Jack ducked his head, ears burning. Sure, he was friends with David and Eli, but it was embarrassing they learned something like that from their brother. He hoped they didn’t think much of him telling his tutor something like that instead of them. Neither of them sounded or looked too bothered.

The neighbourhood David and his family lived in was much bigger, and nicer than his own. It’s not like his parents were hurting for money, they just preferred something scaled down. He always felt out of place, because despite that, he _felt_ poor; walking around in clothes that didn’t fit, not having his own car despite being 17, not even having a smartphone despite it being 2016; but it wasn’t lack of money, it was lack of… Well, affection, he supposed.

He only felt vaguely anxious pulling up to a house with six cars already parked around it, and knowing a motorcycle was hidden somewhere in there, as well. George slowed to a stop before the house and looked to the other side of the street.

“Just do it. Park on the other side of the street,” Eli drawled.

“It’s illegal,” David said matter of factly. Eli turned around and crossed his eyes.

“You’re illegal,” he sneered.

“Are you guys 12?” George chided, pulling in front of the mailbox. Not like the mail was coming today, anyways.

Eli made a bee-line for the door, and George followed after him, locking the door once at least one of the back doors was open.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” David rumbled, pulling him out of the car. Jack swallowed thickly, wringing his hands.

“I’ve never met your uncles, or Hal’s dad, and I’ve never ever had a big Christmas,” he said in a high whine, way too fast. David laughed and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, squeezing slightly.

“Okay, chill for one second, alright?” Jack nodded meekly and David shut the door with his foot. “The blond guy wearing sunglasses inside is Kaz, or Mr. Miller if you’d like, he and my dad used to have a weird… Thing? Still do? Who cares. The one with the gray hair and spurs is Adam, and my dad’s twin is Abraham. Hal’s dad’s name is…” He paused for a moment and tapped his chin.

“You know, I don’t know Hal’s dad’s name? I think Kaz just calls him Huey but Hal says that’s not his name… But hasn’t said what it is.” Jack’s head was spinning. That was too many people. And they were all going to be sitting around, familiar with each other, opening presents and… He felt a little less warm and fuzzy, and a little more cold and clammy. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Uh… Okay.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

David led him, entirely unsure, into his house, which briefly brought back the warm, cozy feeling. The tree was in the front room, intimidatingly large even with the high ceilings, laced with lights of every colour and so many ornaments Jack couldn’t look at them all. On top was an angel, not a star. His eyes traveled to the almost terrifying amount of presents under and, honestly, around the base of the tree. It redawned on him how many people were in this house, and he wobbled a bit on his feet.

As if to start the experience with a bang, a huge husky rounded the corner with his tongue out of his mouth, bounding straight towards Jack. David stepped in front of him and caught the dog in his arms when he jumped up, gratefully accepting the slurry of doggie kisses.

“Chill out, Commander,” David squirmed and eventually lifted the huge dog off the ground, cradling him in his arms. Jack moved out of reach of the dog’s paws, laughing slightly. Hal stuck his head out from around the corner before skittering over.

“Why did you leave me alone with them, Dave? Not cool,” Hal wheezed under his breath. He looked towards Jack and smiled. “Hi, Jack.” Jack waved gently and David looked about ready to pass the dog off to Hal at any moment.

“It was like, 10 minutes,” David huffed, chin up so Commander didn’t lick his mouth as he was talking. It was David’s mother, next, who peered around the corner, and her face lit right up once she spotted Jack.

“Jack, sweetheart, how are you!” Tatyana all but scooped him up in her arms, squeezing him tightly. Jack practically felt all the air leave his lungs, and he bit his tongue to keep from making a noise. “I’m sorry my house is such a mess, all these dirty men are just awful.” She set him down and beamed so wonderfully it made his heart melt. Tatyana always made him feel so welcome, and he couldn’t help but secretly view her as more of a mother figure than his own.

“I-it’s fine, Tanya,” Jack squeaked.

“Mom, I’ll trade you,” David grunted, holding his arms out with Commander’s tail almost smacking Jack in the face. Tatyana rolled her eyes and took the dog from him, setting him on the ground. He curled up around Hal’s feet, who frowned and looked vaguely helpless.

“Stop being a goof and introduce Jack to your uncles, before they get to the point of not being able to remember anything.” Tatyana left with a swish of her hair, and Jack and David pulled Commander off of Hal’s feet. The dog whined, but resigned to curling up on one of the couches in the front room.

“Do I have to meet a bunch of old drunk guys, like, really?” Jack laughed nervously, and his mouth clicked shut when David grabbed his hand and grinned at him.

“These old drunk guys raised me, and they deserve to meet my _boyfriend,_ don’t you think?” Jack’s ears burned, and he wanted to wipe the smug look of both David and Hal’s faces. He gently gripped David’s hand and averted his gaze, clearing his throat.

“Well, I suppose you have a good point…” He murmured. Jack let himself be dragged from the entry way and closer to the commotion in the dining room. Seated around the table was David’s father, the burliest man he’d ever seen, a man who looked exactly like him, but with a kinder look in his eye; So, Abraham; a man who looked much younger than the rest, with long blond hair tied in a ponytail, and a pair of sunglasses perched on his nose (David wasn’t kidding about Kaz Miller); a man with long, but not as long as Miller’s, silver hair and neat facial hair framing his extremely sharp face; who then, was Adam. The fifth man looked uncomfortably similar to Hal, and by process of elimination, Jack decided he was “Huey” Emmerich.

“David!” Miller notched his sunglasses into his hair and squinted at them with brilliant blue eyes. All eyes turned towards them and Jack wanted to hide, but he stayed frozen, hand feeling increasingly colder in David’s grip. Jack locked eyes with John, whose mouth curled into a grin and his eye crinkled at the side as it closed.

“Good to see you, Jack!” He rumbled, standing up from his chair. Jack smiled to the best of his abilities and shifted his weight from foot to foot. Now everyone was looking at _him._

“H-hello, sir,” Jack said softly, nodding his head slightly.

“I didn’t know you had more than two friends,” Miller said teasingly, leaning forward with his chin on his hands (one of them was not, _natural_ ). David bristled and his ears went red. He bit his tongue and huffed.

“I have a lot of friends, Kaz,” he hissed, and Jack felt him move to cross his arms, like a child, but he stopped as to not break contact with him. Miller’s blue eyes settled on Jack again and he stood up a little straighter. David looked between them and let go of his hand, instead putting both of them on Jack’s shoulders. “In fact, this is my _boyfriend._ ”

_He went and just said it._

Jack’s nervous smile all but cracked and he laughed a little, trying to back up. Introduced as a boyfriend before they even knew his _name_. There was not any real kind of reaction, other than Miller sitting back with a smile, sliding his sunglasses back on his nose, Abraham smiled softly, and Adam raised an eyebrow. Tatyana poked her head into the dining room and rolled her eyes.

“No one is shocked you like men, David,” she said, putting her own hands on her son’s shoulders, leaning up on her toes a little bit. David’s ears burnt bright red, and Jack stifled a laugh behind his hand. “It runs in the family, introduce him like a normal person.” David coughed and nodded, and Jack appreciated being able to see him so embarrassed.

“Th-this is Jack, he’s my boyfriend,” he murmured, and most of the men at the table nodded towards him. Adam seemed unimpressed.

“So the blond thing runs in the family,” Adam said slowly, crystal clear eyes sweeping over the table to stare David’s father in the eye. Tatyana laughed, _loudly,_ and Miller grimaced. Jack blinked innocently, and John had nothing to say on the matter, other than to grin widely at his friend (friend? Brother? Jack didn’t know if these men were actually all his uncles).

“Jack is joining us for Christmas, so you boys be nice to him, okay?” Tatyana winked and reached around David to pat Jack on the head. There was a resounding _grunt_ of agreement from the table, and the attention was finally taken off them, instead back to their game of, presumably, poker. David steered him out of the room and up the stairs to his bedroom, snickering slightly at the still shocked look on Jack’s face.

“You look like you’ve seen _many_ ghosts,” David echoed, closing the door behind Jack.

“I’ve died and this is hell,” Jack croaked, hobbling over to David’s bed and face planting down on to it. A knock sounded on the door and David pulled it open. Hal stood in the doorway with a pout.

“You keep abandoning me,” he said dramatically, pushing past David.

The three of them, eventually four as Eli came in and joined them, sat and played StreetFighter until Tatyana was calling them for dinner.

“I didn’t know people actually ate dinner at like, one PM on Christmas,” Jack hummed as they filtered down the stairs. David and Hal shrugged.

“Some people do, some people don’t,” Hal said, pushing his glasses up. “It’s like Thanksgiving-” Jack blew his bangs out of his eyes.

“People eat early on Thanksgiving, too?” Jack said sarcastically. Hal frowned and he sighed.

“Sorry, Jack, I-”

“It’s cool, dude, I’m kidding.”

A second table had been shoved into the dining room, with five chairs that looked much too small to reach the surface seated around it. Both tables had been set, and the old men were still seated around the regular table. Tatyana was bustling around the kitchen, lightly scolding her husband for not even offering to help her with dishes and such. Eli and David started heading towards the incredibly small chairs, and Jack raised his eyebrows.

“W-wait, is that table for us?” he asked quietly.

“Mom hasn’t gotten us new chairs since we were little,” David said, squatting down and sitting in the chair. “It’s fun, we get to sit at the kids table.” Jack had to laugh, looking at David and his brother, both breaching six foot, trying to sit in these chairs.

“They’re cute, I can’t get rid of them,” Tatyana said with a slight frown. “Sorry, even though we have such a big family, we still don’t have a big table! But, I get to sit with you boys so Georgie can sit with the big boys.”

Dinner was lively, with a lot of talking in between the tables, and Jack had never felt so overwhelmingly _welcome._ Sure, the Sears family was very kind and accepting of him, but he had never sat down and had a family dinner with them. Jack and Hal’s inputs were not missed in conversations, and there was so much food Jack wondered if it was all necessary. Though, he supposed George and the twins got their appetite somewhere, it was clearly obvious that Abraham did not miss the bottomless stomach gene either.

When plate refills slowed and five bottles of champagne and wine had been emptied, Tatyana herded them all to the living room so they could open presents. The afternoon sun filtered through the large windows in the front of the house, causing the Sears home to look and feel even more cozy.

Everyone settled somewhere, and Jack and David opting to sit on the ground. George, being the only sober “adult” took it upon himself to hand out the presents, and Jack all about cried when a small assortment of gifts ended up in his lap.

“What we usually do, Jack, Hal,” Tatyana started, sitting up a little bit straighter and leaning forward on with her elbows on her knees. “Is we let people open presents one by one so that everyone can appreciate what they got! We don’t like to cycle through everyone opening one present and then going to the next, it takes too much time.” The two of them nodded, and Tatyana’s head spun as she looked around the room.

“Eli, baby, why don’t you start, and we’ll just go down the line.”

 

Eli shifted in his armchair and, wanting to get things over with, picked up the present addressed from his father. He made unwavering, weary eye contact with John as he ripped through the wrapping paper. Slowly he dragged his gaze down to the gift in his lap, a package of plain white ankle socks. Eli narrowed his eyes and looked back to his father.

“Dad, what the fuck,” he growled.

“Don’t swear at your father,” Tatyana chided, and Eli rolled his eyes. John smiled brightly at his son and folded his hands in his lap.

“Figured you could use some new ones.” The look John gave Eli, and the way his ears started to burn bright red, and the way Miller and Adam’s hands shot up to stifle a laugh, Jack almost lost his _mind_ trying not laugh. The blond grumbled and went to the next gift, from Abraham. The small package was revealed to be a kind of novelty survival multi-tool, wrapped up in the receipt.

“Oh. This is cool, I guess, uncle Ahab,” he said, turning the knife around in his hands. Abraham shrugged and twiddled his thumbs.

“Saved the receipt, in case you didn’t need it,” he muttered, and Jack had realised he hadn’t heard this man speak all night. His voice was not as booming and alive as his brother’s, but slightly tired and a little meek. Eli nodded slowly and took the present that was much larger than the rest, addressed from his mother. She looked at him expectantly, blinking her eyes quickly. Eli rolled his eyes and tore into the paper, revealing… An RC plane.

“What am I, 12, mom?” Tatyana pouted and folded his arms across her chest.

“I can just take it back, you know,” she sniffed, sticking her nose in the air.

“N-no, mom, it’s great, I love it,” he said hurriedly, gingerly setting the box next to him. The next was a bag from Adam, that was relatively small. He reached in, sifting through the tissue paper and pulled out a jewelry box. He raised an eyebrow and looked to Adam, who smiled wryly.

“Just open it,” he drawled, crossing one leg over the other. Eli eyed him skeptically a moment more before popping open the box. For a moment, Jack could swear his eyes _shimmered,_ but it was gone in a flash, and Eli was trying his best to feign disinterest. He took the necklace from the box; it was lined in teeth. “Fox teeth,” Adam informed them casually. Eli’s cheeks dusted pink with the effort of trying to play it cool.

“This is...cool,” he muttered. “Thanks, Adam.” A satisfied look came to the gray haired man’s face and he nodded. Something vaguely book-like was the next gift, and Jack had guessed right, as the blond unwrapped an encyclopedic history of military airplanes. Eli blinked, looked towards his older brother, and gave him a little grin.

“This is actually, like, really sick.” George laughed and nodded.

“You’re welcome.”

David’s gift was saved for last, and Eli dumped the bag into his lap, pulling tissue paper away and shoving it back into the bag. David grinned next to him, and Jack raised his eyebrows when the blond unearthed a flask, with an engraved jackal’s head on it. Tatyana immediately looked at him with a scowl.

“David, where did you even buy that?” She hissed, arms folded back over her chest. David shifted and grinned innocently.

“Online,” he stated proudly.

“You and your brother aren’t even old enough to drink!”

 

Seated in a dining room chair next to Eli was Adam, who went for the large box addressed from John first. The man unwrapped presents with far too much grace, cutting the tape with his fingernails and gently unfolding the paper. Inside the wrapping paper was a cardboard box, also taped up. He took Eli’s new multi-tool and cut open the box, unfolding it. Eli leaned over the arm over the chair and snickered.

“John,” he said coolly, raising an eyebrow and looking over to his friend. John blinked innocently. Inside the box was nine bottles of Russian Standard vodka, and a card that read _Party Hard_ in Russian. The twins stifled a laugh, and Adam gingerly set the box on the floor and sniffled indignantly.

“He’ll drink it,” David whispered to Jack, and he nodded.

The gift he decided on next was from Abraham, which was poorly wrapped; it was quite obvious that he had done it himself. Adam took the same care of unwrapping the gift, and smiled fondly at the front of it. Eli leaned over the arm of the couch again and rolled his eyes, sticking his tongue out. It appeared to be a photo album, and by the bashful look on Abraham’s face, it meant quite a lot.

“Took me a while to actually find enough pictures to fill up an album, sorry, Adam,” Abraham rumbled, sitting up a little bit straighter. Adam laughed quietly through his nose and set the album gently on top of the box of vodka.

“Thank you, Ahab.” Jack had figured that it was some kind of family nickname, not necessarily of his name, but it probably meant something. Abraham nodded slowly and a warm kind of smile melted his tiredness away for a moment. The gift from David and his brothers was sealed in an envelope and turned out to be a year-long pass to an incredibly fancy shooting range. Eli puffed his chest out.

“I thought of it,” he declared proudly, and Adam reached over to pat his head.

“Very thoughtful, boys,” he mused, turning the pass over in his hand before tucking it back in the envelope and setting it with his other gifts. Tatyana’s gift was slightly small, but the looked incredibly pleased with whatever was inside the case opened on his lap.

“Tanya…” he muttered, reaching over to the couch next to him and wrapping his arm around Tatyana. She rested her head on his shoulder until he pulled away. It was a very nice, expensive looking cleaning kit for, whatever gun Adam seemed to be so fond of. He gently closed the box and set it at his feet with the rest and thumbed the last present, a card, in his hands. Clear blue eyes landed on Miller, and the two of them smirked; Miller’s was quite indignant, though Adam’s was a little wary.

He slowly opened the envelope, read the card with raised eyebrows and then slid the gift card out of it’s sleeve. His lip twitched and he narrowed his eyes.

“Wow,” he sighed, turning the McDonald’s gift card over in his hands. “What a splendid gift, Kazuhira.” Miller huffed proudly and leaned back in the couch he was seated in, folding his arms behind his head. Jack blinked and felt stupid. Was there a joke he was missing?

 

Tatyana clapped her hands together excitedly, exclaiming, “My turn!” as she sifted the presents in her lap around, looking at the names and shapes of them all. She picked up a bag addressed from her husband and tossed it behind her, laughing lightly.

“We forgot to throw the bag away, oops! We already opened that~” she hummed, winking to no one in particular. Eli gagged and David’s eyes rolled in the back of his head momentarily, and Jack couldn’t help but laugh. She then picked up a small, thin box, from the twins. She peeled the wrapping off and opened the jewelry box, cooing at the necklace inside of it.

“Oh, you two! This is so beautiful,” she crooned, taking it out the box and turning her back towards George and handing him the necklace. George clasped it around her neck and she beamed, looking between her boys. Eli’s ears burned and he huffed, blowing his bangs out of his eyes. David grinned sheepishly and rubbed his neck.

“You’re welcome, mom,” they said in unison. She reached next for another vaguely book-shaped package, from her eldest, and unwrapped it eagerly. The cook book under the wrappings was the biggest book Jack had ever seen, and Tatyana’s eyes lit up as she marveled at the cover.

“Awww, honey!” She put the book in her lap and threw her arms around George’s neck, squeezing him until he had to force himself free. He laughed sheepishly and rubbed his neck.

“I figured, because your other one is so old,” he murmured, smiling lightly. She looked at the book fondly for another moment before setting it down, picking up a box next.

“Careful, Tanya,” Miller said lightly. She raised her eyebrows and settled more comfortably into the couch, carefully unwrapping and opening the box.

“Wine glasses?” she pulled one out, eyes sparkling. “Oh, Kaz, they’re so beautiful!” She looked down and blinked slowly. “Why are there four of them?” Miller leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and flipped his sunglasses into his hair, squinting fondly.

“One for you, one for John, one for me, and one for Abraham,” he said matter of factly. Adam’s lip twitched.

“What about Adam?” Tatyana asked with a pout.

“What _about_ Adam,” Miller sneered, and shot Adam a playful wink. Adam rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, uncrossing his legs and recrossing them the opposite way. Tatyana continued to pout, setting the box slowly on the ground.

“They’re very nice, Kaz,” she concluded, picking up a poorly wrapped, squishy package. “What could this be, Ahab?” she asked lightly, looking over to her husband’s twin. Abraham smiled slightly and gestured for her to open it. The pillow inside almost caused Tatyana to burst into _tears,_ and she flipped it around to show everyone. A family photo was printed on to the pillow, and _The Sears Family_ embroidered in an incredibly flowery, fancy font. John and Kaz snorted, and Eli rolled his eyes.

“Oh, Ahab, it’s so cute! Thank you, honey!” she hugged the pillow and smiled brightly. Abraham ran a hand through his hair and shrugged, laughing lightly.

“Figured you’d like something like that,” he said softly, reaching across Miller to pinch his brother’s leg.

“And now~” Tatyana sang, turning Adam’s card over in her hand a few times before opening the envelope. She read the card slowly, and Jack could only assume it was long and dramatic, the way her eyes were already starting to well up. Inside was a reservation at some kind of spa-hotel deal, and she leaned against the arm of the couch, reaching out for Adam. He pat her head with a satisfied look on his face. “Adaaaaam, this is so sweet, I love youuuuu~”

“I know, Tanya,” he mused, ruffling her hair.

 

George opened his presents politely and methodically, tearing one line of paper away and moving the rest to the side. He opted to open his brothers’ presents first, and Eli’s revealed itself to be a pair of sapphire shot glasses, which earned him a glare.

“Can you boys _stop_ with the alcohol,” she chided as George examined the glasses fondly. Eli ducked his head to his chest for a moment and grumbled an apology. _At least George is of age,_ Jack thought, keeping his laughter to himself. David’s present was an incredibly nice and well put together day planner. The brunet rubbed his neck and shrugged.

“The ones they give you at schools are so boring, so I got you a cool one,” he murmured and George laughed, thanking him and placed it to the side, contemplating for a moment whose present he should open next. He picked up a card, from Adam, and opened it slowly. He blinked, and looked over to the older man.

“For school, y’know.” George cleared his throat.

“Thank you, Adam,” he said, straightening his shoulders.

“What is it, honey?” Tatyana leaned over and her eyes sparkled, and she looked over to Adam with her hands clasped to her chest. “Two hundred??” she asked incredulously.

“School’s expensive these days, Tanya,” Adam said and shrugged his shoulders. It was an Amazon gift card, likely so he could buy things for his dorm once he left. George looked incredibly humbled. He set the card inside of the planner and eyed the presents from his parents, before picking up and present that looked strangely familiar, addressed from his uncle. He pulled the multi-tool out and looked to Eli, who held his up, and then he looked to Abraham, who was looking about sheepishly.

“Oh, they match, that’s nice. Thank you,” George said slowly, politely. Abraham nodded briefly and smiled a little awkwardly. His presents from his parents greatly varied in size and, deciding the save the best for last, he picked up the oblong gift from his father, opening it, and staring at it quizzically. The bottle of Captain Morgan in his lap had Tatyana rolling her eyes and pouting his her cheek in her hand and her elbow on the armrest of the couch.

“D-dad, I don’t drink rum,” George said, laughing slightly as he finished pulling the wrapping paper off of the incredibly large bottle. David eyed it _hungrily_ and Jack giggled into his hands, elbowing the brunet in the side.

“Now’s the time to start, son!” John said merrily, clapping George with a grin stretched across his face. Tatyana shook her head. “Your brother even got you glasses, you’re all set!” Tatyana groaned, and Adam patted her on the shoulder. George moved on to his mother’s present, which was much too big. He picked it off the floor and raised an eyebrow, looking over to her. She immediately stopped moping and sat up with big, sparkling eyes. He laughed softly and tore open the paper.

“It’s for your new bed!” She clapped her hands together, as he revealed an incredibly nice bedset. George looked over to her, and then to the bedset, and huffed, setting it at his feet before bringing his mother into a tight hug, just as she had done for him.

“Thanks mom,” he muttered. George going away for college was no big deal, people did it all the time, but it was quite obvious that the Sears family was not quite ready to let go of their eldest, despite him being almost 22.

 

John sat up a little bit straighter on the couch and clapped his huge hands, rubbing them together for a moment as he exclaimed, “My turn, then!” John’s pile seemed to be the biggest, although most of them were small. He decided to open his children’s presents first, holding up a very obviously mug-shaped gift and raising his eyebrow at George. George motioned for him to open it, and he tore the paper off the precariously wrapped mug. It was, surprise, a beer mug, clear, with a white, printed picture of a dog on it. David leaned over to him.

“He gets him a different mug with a dog on it every year,” he whispered. Jack nodded, watching father slap son on the shoulder.

“How do you manage to find a different mug every year?” John rumbled, and George shrugged, looking satisfied. He marveled at it a moment more before setting it down in the cup holder separating his, Kaz, and Abraham’s side of the couch from Tatyana and George’s. He moved next to pick up his largest present, from the twins, a thick eyebrow raised and he looked back and forth between the two of them. He unwrapped an incredibly large power tool kit, and a slight scowl came across his face.

“When have I ever _built_ anything, boys?” he puffed, one eye narrowed. David and Eli grinned at each other before looking at their father sweetly.

“That’s the joke, dad.” He huffed again and put the box back at his feet, using it as a footrest. He reached for a bag from Mr. Emmerich, pulling out a case which held an incredibly fancy, hi-tech looking device.

“The hell is this,” he grumbled, turning it over in his hands. Hal’s father wrung his hands in his lap and tilted his head to the side.

“Well, it’s a lot of things? It’s got a blue tooth speaker, and there’s a calculator, and it can receive text messages, and uhm…” his voice trailed off under the intense but quizzical look John was giving him. “Uh, and it’s a vape.” The twins and Jack snorted, simultaneously, and Abraham hummed appreciatively. John set it in the mug without another word, kind of, pouting, slightly.

Adam had gotten him a very clean, nice, antique looking cigar box, and Jack could swear the old man almost looked grateful, but it was hard to tell. John nodded towards him thankfully and Adam smirked and shrugged, leaning back in his chair slightly (as far back as a dining room chair would let him). Not much of talkers, Jack figured. His present from Miller was a card that he began to read, but quickly shut and looked to the man next to him, who hurriedly shoved his sunglasses on to the bridge of his nose and grinned.

“God damnit, Kaz,” John muttered, his ears actually turning a little red. David and Eli groaned.

“Gross,” they murmured in unison, and Jack laughed softly at both of them. With a roll of his eye, he reached for his last present, from his brother, assuming from the poor wrapping. Inside was a jewelry box, and Jack couldn't help but think that these people just _really_ liked jewelry. Upon opening the box, John took out a pendant hanging from a gold chain, with a shining diamond set into the middle of it. Inside was a picture of the two of them. John looked at it fondly for a handful of minutes, before reaching around Miller and putting his hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, brother,” he said softly, squeezing his shoulder before taking his hand away. Abraham nodded, scratching his cheek a moment. Eli cocked his head to the side.

“Hey, where's your present from mom?” He asked, and John and Tatyana exchanged looks.

“Opened it already,” John grumbled.

“You can't open presents before Christmas!” The twins snickered, and John shot them looks that shut them right up.

 

Miller reached between his feet and piled all of his presents in his lap, picking up the one that ended up most accessible. Tatyana’s gift was a sweater, and he tilted his head to the side as he looked at it, a grin on his face. He turned it around to show everyone the tacky thing, a picture of an old man with sunglasses that read _World’s Coolest Dad_ on it. Jack had no idea this man even had a child.

“It looks just like me, Tanya!” he crowed, turning it back to himself and admiring it a moment more. Tatyana grinned, nodding excitedly. “Oh, I bet Cat will be _thrilled_ to see me wear this,” he muttered, raising an eyebrow. John and Abraham snorted. He folded it up and put it behind his head on the couch, moving on.

He took two cards from John and Abraham, looked at the two of them, and then back to the cards. The twins were _grinning_ at him and it felt quite ominous, so he set the cards down and opened David’s present instead. Jack could have swore he saw the blond pale a little as he opened the box of very nice, fancy cigars. Miller cleared his throat.

“David…” he muttered, turning the box in his hand, before (presumably) moving his gaze towards David. He grinned a little sheepishly.

“You always buy the garbage ones my dad smokes, so I got you some nice ones.” Miller nodded slowly and looked between Abraham and John, before smiling.

“Thank you, Dave.” Clearly wanting to save Adam’s present for last, Miller looked at the two cards and hesitantly picked up the one from Abraham. By now, Jack had kind of assumed it was going to be something ridiculous and probably dirty, so he intently watched the blond’s face. He slowly opened the card, leaning very far back in the couch to avoid the twins’ prying eyes, and even with his sunglasses Jack could tell that Miller’s face was very, very red. Abraham and John shared a laugh, and Miller shut the card with a huff.

“Very funny,” he grumbled, tearing into the card from John. He blinked, leaning forward again and staring at the card incredulously. He slid his sunglasses into his hair, squinted at the card, and looked at John. “I-it just says ‘you’ll see’?” John nodded, and Tatyana rolled her eyes.

“John, will you stop giving him cards like this?” John proceeded to wink, which was entirely lost in translation.

“You have an eyepatch, John!” Miller bristled, pushing the other man by the shoulder. He laughed, a booming sound that practically shook Jack’s bones, and wrapped his arm around Miller’s shoulders, squeezing him tightly. Rolling his eyes and shoving John away, he looked to Adam, holding the card in his hands. Adam raised a thin eyebrow and wore an expression that was practically _taunting_ the blond. Jack was on the edge of his seat, metaphorically, as he was sitting on the ground; what sort of weird tradition did these old men have, anyway?

Miller slowly read the card, a smirk curling his lips. He pulled out the gift card, raised his eyebrows, blinked a couple of times, and then pulled his sunglasses back over his eyes. He let everyone look at the Victoria's Secret gift card in his hand, eyebrows raised. He leaned back, looking over to Adam with possibly the most sinister, shit-eating grin Jack had ever seen in his life.

“You lose, Adam.”

(Later, David explained to him that Miller and Adam had a competition to only buy each other gift cards the other would never use.)

 

Abraham sat forward a little bit and pulled all of his presents into his lap, imitating Miller’s method of choosing an order. The first gift he picked up, miraculously, was from his brother. He looked over to his twin with a slightly irritated look in his eye, maintaining eye contact as he unwrapped the present. It was, without a doubt, a vape. Abraham sighed and leaned back into the couch.

“John, do you have to do this every year?” John nodded proudly. David and Eli snickered, and Jack raised his eyebrow.

“He literally does get him one every year. He has a glass case at Kaz’s house full of them,” David explained, and the look Abraham sent him made him sit up straighter. He picked up a slightly large present, pulling at the tape and unwrapping it to reveal a case. A case, that vaguely, maybe a little bit, looked like a gun case.

“Adam,” Abraham said slowly, bringing his gaze to the gray haired man. “Did you, perhaps… Buy me a gun?” Adam merely winked.

“Can I see it?” David asked, moving forward on his hands and knees.

“David, sit down,” Tatyana sighed, running a hand through her hair. The brunet pouted, and Abraham gave him a look that, with one eye, could have been interpreted as a wink. Abraham shook his head and set the case next to him, in between the arm rest and himself. Huey’s present was acceptably box shaped, and showed itself to be a drone. Huey smiled crookedly.

“I-it’s like an RC plane, for adults!” He declared, nodding. Abraham nodded towards him.

“That’s, cool, Huey.” He set the gift at his feet. All three of his nephews had gotten him a gift, mostly because they couldn’t agree on another thing to get him to separate the twins from George. He rooted through the bag for a moment, before pulling out an extremely expensive looking pocket watch. He raised an eyebrow and looked between the three of them.

“This is very nice, boys,” he said gently. George nodded to him, and the twins offered their identical grins. He moved for the gift addressed from Tatyana, but he was stopped by Miller, grabbing his wrist and raising his eyebrows.

“Ah-ah, open mine first. They go together,” he hummed, smiling almost innocently. Abraham raised an eyebrow and grabbed the bag from Miller, pulling the card out. He cleared his throat after reading, trying to regain his composure, and Miller wore the same kind of look Abraham had given him for his letter. Tatyana rolled her eyes.

“Dirty old men,” she huffed.

“There’s something else,” Miller mumbled, pointing to the bag. Abraham blinked and sifted through the tissue paper, pulling out a piece of construction paper. “She wanted me to give this to you,” he hummed. Abraham set the paper down on his lap and wrapped Miller in his arms, squeezing the life out of him practically.

“K-Kaz.” Miller patted him on the back, a little harder than necessary, to try and escape his grip.

“Easy big guy,” he wheezed, huffing upon being released. The picture was a drawing from Miller’s daughter, who appeared to be very young by the quality of the drawing, of herself, her father, and Abraham all holding hands. It was very cute. Tatyana almost burst into tears. “Okay, now you can open Tanya’s.”

Abraham pulled the wrapping paper away from an almost identical sweater to Miller’s except instead of sunglasses the old man wore an eyepatch. He looked over to Tatyana with a slurry of emotions on his face.

“T-Tanya, I’m not even, Cat’s,” he puffed, and Tatyana put a finger to her lips, winking.

“Close enough, right?”

 

Since Huey, seated in his wheelchair in between the couch and another armchair, and Hal, seated in the armchair, had already had a Christmas at their own house, they had no presents to open, so it was down to David and Jack. They looked between each other, and David volunteered himself to go first, stating that he wanted Jack to open his presents last. He was dying with anticipation, at this point.

He grabbed George’s present, yet another book-shaped gift. He unwrapped a vast encyclopedia and history of the US military’s artillery and, by the looks of it, it was incredibly heavy. He looked towards George and raised an eyebrow.

“You uh, really like giving books as presents, don’t you?” He laughed, and George laughed, too. He set the book on Jack’s lap, and Jack huffed, shoving it off his lap with a thud. He picked up the gift from John, shook it, and when it sloshed around, he raised an eyebrow and looked towards his father. John grinned nervously, as if he could feel the glare his wife was shooting him. David set it down, and picked up Eli’s present.

He unwrapped a flask that was practically identical to the one that he got for Eli, except instead of a jackal, there was a fox on it. Tatyana threw her hands in the air.

“ _Boys!_ ” she growled, and the twins held up their hands in defense.

“S-sorry, mom!” the echoed each other, too frantic to bother saying it together. He snatched up an eerily familiar looking present from his uncle and looked him in the eye while he opened a multi-tool that was identical to the ones his brothers had gotten. Abraham broke eye contact and smiled warily.

“WOW, uncle Ahab, what a SURPRISE,” David said with a playful roll of his eyes.

“Stop picking on your uncle, boys!” Tatyana scolded, shooting the three of them a glare that was not entirely serious.

“Look, it’s funny,” Eli grumbled. David grabbed the gift from his father again, slightly curious as to _what_ kind of alcohol he had gotten his 18-year-old son. The bottle of Fireball reflected the Christmas lights and Jack snorted.

“John, he’s still underage,” Tatyana sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Eh, whatever.”

David picked up the gift from his mother and raised his eyebrows as he pulled out an incredibly nice, fashionable winter coat. Far nicer than anything else in David’s wardrobe, at least.

“Mom, this jacket is so nice?” Jack was sure the inflection of a question was meant to be more grateful, but he wouldn’t be surprised. Tatyana smiled politely and then winked as she made a gesture for him to check the pockets. David stared at her quizzically for a moment before reaching in the pocket. His ears burned bright red and he bit his tongue. “ _Mom._ ” He groaned, running a hand down his face.

“Wh-what is i-” Jack tried to ask.

“ _NOTHING,_ ” David all but _whined,_ stuffing the jacket in the middle of his crossed legs. He glared at his mother, who only smiled sweetly.

Next was a card from Hal, which he opened apprehensively, probably expecting something incredibly weird. It was a $30 visa gift card, and the brunet looked behind him at his bespectacled friend and narrowed his eyes.

“Is this so I can buy Minecraft?” he grunted, waving the card around. Hal laughed nervously, pushed up his glasses, and muttered, “Yes.” David rolled his eyes and patted him a little too hard on the leg. “Thanks, buddy, I’m going to buy Jack and I a copy of Amazing Frog?” Hal hung his head and sighed.

“You’re a jerk, Dave.”

Lastly, he took the present from Miller in his hands and looked over to him with a small, almost childish smile.

“Better be good, Kaz,” he said, tearing into the paper. He sat, perplexed, and the dog collar sitting in his lap. “Uh… Did you mean to give this Commander?” he laughed nervously. Kaz got up from the couch, laughing and shaking his head.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Kaz hobbled off to the garage while David sat with a frown on his face.

“Maybe he got you a dog, Dave,” Hal snickered. Tatyana giggled and shook her head.

“No, Kaz would never do that, _especially_ knowing that Eli and David are moving out soon,” she said knowingly, nodding. However, she was proved incredibly wrong in a matter of moments, as Miller came back into the room, holding an incredibly fluffy, sleeping puppy. David’s eyes widened and Miller came over, gently setting the puppy into his lap.

“He’s an Akita Inu,” Miller said, and looked at John and Tatyana before tilting his glasses down and winking. “Sorry.” David marveled at the fluffy bundle in his lap, petting him gently and looking to the blond with damn near the most emotion Jack had ever seen on his face. “I’ll go with you to etch the name on the collar.”

“K-Kaaaaaz…” David scooped the puppy into his arms and hugged him gently, burying his face in his tummy. The puppy stirred, snuffled David’s hair, and was content to fall back asleep.

“Kazuhira Miller! I cannot believe you bought my son a dog!” Tatyana huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. Miller shrugged and laughed lightly.

“You’re just jealous I got David the best present in the room,” Miller whistled, dodging her newly gained family pillow, which proceeded to hit Abraham. The commotion went on for a second, and Jack was too enamored in petting the fluffy little dog to realise he had his own presents to open.

 

“Wait, Jack has to open his presents,” George said clearly, and too many pairs of eyes were looking at him at once. Jack sat up a little straighter and looked at his tiny pile of four presents. David and Hal had, of course, gotten him something, but the other presents were from Tatyana and George. He could feel himself already getting a little teary eyed at the fact that he was sitting here, on Christmas, with actual presents in his lap. He nodded and picked up Hal’s present.

Inside the bag was an incredibly dorky phone charm of a samurai sword. He laughed and held it up, turning it around.

“This is really nice, Hal, thanks!” He tucked it into his jacket pocket and beamed at the other boy.

“I know you like samurai and stuff, so I thought it’d be nice,” Hal pushed up his glasses and patted Jack on the head. He nodded and grabbed the gift from George, tongue sticking out as he gently unwrapped the gift; he pulled the nicest calculator he’d ever seen from the wreckage of wrapping paper, and he looked over to George, who had been his math tutor since he was a freshman, and even though it was such a nerdy gift, he couldn’t help the swelling feeling in his chest.

“O-oh, I, thank you, George, this is really… Cool…” he sniffled, setting the calculator down gently. George laughed and shook his head.

“It’s a calculator, Jack, no need to cry. Just because I’ll be in another state doesn’t mean you can’t ask me for help, still, by the way,” George nodded towards him and he nodded back. Jack couldn’t decide if he should open David’s present last, but David shoved his mother’s present into his arms before he could finish deciding for himself. Inside was a sweater, which he was definitely used to getting, but it was actually in his size. It was a nice dark blue, and felt incredibly soft and warm. He looked over to her, trying not to be that guy who got incredibly emotional over Christmas gifts.

“T-Tanya, thank you…” he mumbled, ducking his head into the sweater to rub at his eyes.

“Oh, honey, you’re so welcome! Did I get the right size?” she asked sweetly, beaming at him when he raised his head. He nodded and thanked her again, folding the sweater up and setting it in his lap. He held up David’s card, and raised his eyebrow, trying to appear sassy and probably failing due to the fact that he was near tears.

“Your family spent money on me and you got me a card?” he asked, laughing lightly.

“Just open the damn thing,” David muttered, his ears a little red. Jack opened the card and took whatever was in it out so he could read it. There was no white space anywhere in the card, and it was honestly the sappiest damn thing he’d ever read in his life, and that alone was already making him blush and his eyes well up a little bit. He looked to whatever was in his hand, and he didn’t know whether to laugh or not.

It was and incredibly dorky, handwritten “coupon” that read _One Free Date To Wherever, And I Won’t Complain._ Jack stared at it for a moment, and then looked over to David, and snorted, bursting into a fit of laughter.

“What’s it say!” Tatyana asked, getting up from her seat.

“N-no, mom!” David and Tatyana wrestled over the paper for a moment, and David lost due to the puppy waking up and licking his face all over; she stole it and stood up, holding it above her head. She was reading it before he could get to his feet.

“And I won’t complain!! David, this is _so cute_!!” she crooned, holding it away from him when he stood up and tried to get it from her. Miller, Hal, and Eli were practically _crying_ they were laughing so hard, and his father and uncle look just as amused without the noise. David dragged his hands down his face and glared down at Jack, still laughing, and the puppy had moved into Jack’s lap, worriedly licking at his face, thinking he was in distress.

“Oh my God, we’re DONE now, okay!” he hissed, folding his arms over his chest. “Presents are done, food’s done, time to go back to existing as a family that doesn’t talk to each other!” he stooped down and grabbed the puppy out of Jack’s lap and made a mad dash for the stairs, his face beet red.

“Boo, no fun!” Tatyana called after him, handing the coupon back to Jack, who was wiping the tears out of his eyes. Everyone calmed down and gathered all their presents to themselves, and Jack stayed on the ground for a second, wringing his hands together.

“U-uhm, T-Tanya, Mr. Sears…” he forced out as he stood up, rocking back and forth on his heels. David’s parents looked towards him almost simultaneously and offered him their own unique smiles. “Thank you for… Having me and treating me like family all the time…” Tatyana laughed and came over to him, squeezing him in a hug.

“Oh, Jack, honey, you are always welcome here! Unless you break Davey’s heart, but I have a feeling if anything it would be the other way around,” she laughed a little and let him go, smiling. John came over and clamped his hand down on his shoulder. Jack almost jumped out of his skin, but he smiled wearily up at him.

“You’re a good kid, Jack,” he said, before he followed after his brother and friends back to the dining room to play more cards. Eli and Hal had already started back up the stairs, so Jack gathered his things and scurried up opening David’s door, which Hal was just standing outside of.

David lay face down on his bed, puppy sleeping contentedly on his back. Jack laughed and stepped in, motioning for Hal to wait just a second. He set his things down on David’s desk and moved over to the bed, kneeling beside it.

“Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills,” Jack couldn’t help but laugh, and David lifted his head, glaring, still red in the face. Jack laughed more and ruffled his hair.

“You weren’t supposed to let her read it,” he grumbled. Jack rolled his eyes and rested his chin on the bed.

“Hey…” he murmured, poking David’s cheek. David huffed and shooed the puppy off his back, propping himself up on his elbows. Jack leaned up and kissed him quickly, ducking his head against the bed. The puppy came over and snuffled at his hair, chewing on a lock of it before David pulled him away.

“M-Merry Christmas, Dave,” he mumbled into the bed. David laughed and pulled him up, literally dragging him on to the bed and kissing him again, squeezing him tightly so he couldn’t run away.

“Merry Christmas, Jack.”


End file.
